Starbucks drinks to a recovery
IF the coffee business is a barometer of consumer confidence, things may be picking up for the UK economy.
Starbucks UK boss Darcy Willson–Rymes yesterday told Morning Wire that over the last couple of months its UK coffee shops have sold more on a like–for–like basis than the same period the year before.
The lift in sales follows “the toughest trading Starbucks has ever seen” as consumers cut back on frivolous cappuccino spending.
The upturn comes as Starbucks yesterday made 100 per cent of all the coffee it serves in the UK and Ireland Fairtrade.
The move means that Starbucks will serve six times more Faitrade coffee to the 4m customers it draws in a week for a caffeine fix and raises the total Fairtrade coffee market by 18 per cent. The deal also means an additional £2.5m from Starbucks will go to small-scale coffee farmers.
Willson-Rymes said that the move would not “have the effect of pushing up prices for consumers” but said Starbucks had “no plans as yet” to roll out the scheme across the rest of its global consumer base.